, 1887-12-07
NElGHBORING MINES.
Rich Prospects with Promise Of
Devolepment--Plen OF Tim
Der, Water and Game.


ber, Water and Game.
MrsoULs, Mont, Nov. 23.-[Correspond-
eIce Helena Indepedent. 1.-The other day
met on the train, coming from THOMPSON
Falls, Thomas Sheurer, an earlv-duy pros
pector IL the territory, who had Just re.
truned from an all summer prospecting
trip in the northwest corner of Montana
Tom kindly furnished the following infor-
nation and description of that, us yet but
little known part ut the territury
Libby Creek. which is about thirty miles
loug hIws almost due north and emptes
into the Kootenia river at point about
sixty five miles above the old Bonners fer
nv on said river; the creek has its source
from several short tributaries coming FROM
the highest ridge of mountains in that part
OF the country. The old Placer diggings.
at were somewhat extensively worked in
the cary placer days, are at n bar on the
cree about twenty miles above its mouth ,
eight miles further NJ the creek are the
new placer grounds that have been bnsily
worked All summer, and the new little
camp of Lake City. The old route to the
Libby diggins was formerly in rnuHd
about way rom Horse Plains; hut last tall
year ago, Shearer picke out a new trail,
south from Lake City by the head ol Fisher
creek, Lyon gulch and Nirulliun creek
To IhOnpSnn Falls di>tenCe oi SiXty-tivr
miles, Good" Bros, merchants of Tnomp.
son Fall, lave had forty head Of animals
packing supplies to Lake CITY all sum
/ Inrr.
The placer ground on Libby creek is
from 100 To 500 feet wide. The upper dig
gings average, so far rs worked, four feet
in depth Ia false bedrock. consisting of
layer of clay on an old wash. M groi.nd
] al l,tl la.,,
worked below the false bedrock. The
shape of the bedrock at the lower diggings,
alter the ground iS washed, is like II narrow
gorge rom 20 to 60 feet wide and from l2
20 70 ie't deep, composed of u hard slate
hedrock The gold in the lower claims iS
fine, In the upper ground is found the
coarse ''pnmpki kin.sred' gold. Pieces
weighing 81 aud So are taken ont from
three Ia five feet above the bedrock. All
the dust is very fine in quality, averaging
9l2 tine, and brings from $ls5o To Slo 50
, per ounce. +. B. Clark, of Thompson,
handles good portion of the gOl l. His
ln>t shipment, on the 10Th Instant, was
$1,000 worth.
There have been about thirty white men
and hity Cinnamon at work sluice washing
on Libby all summer. China companies
have bought tive claims in the upper dis
! trlct, about one and one-iourth miles in
/ length OF the creek, and it is claimed there
/ Will he close on u thousand men at work
! on tile claims next summer. Twelve white
men, who own claims in the upper dig
! g'isS consider their ground too good tO
sell TO Ci in n,Im,n. Srea'er tS Decker sold a
| lwelltN'eight acre upper claim to Chinese
| inr 81 700 cash, aud they still have In acres
! OF which sixty acres are in the lower dis
| trict, where they have had ten men ut
| work all summer bulding = reservoir
| water bitches, Sluice boxes, cabins, etc, at
cost nf over Sl50o. The ground is from
! twelve t. sixteen feet deep, and will pay
! rom 81 80 to 81 per dav to the man sluC'
I ing. When Little Giant Hydraulic is got
| TO play on the wash, Tor which prrpara
tiOns are being made, it can be worked ut II
! big profit.
! III the Kootenai river, about fifteen miles
below the mouth of Libby creek, are slight
/ rapids, which nrces>iate portage of about
| SIX or seven miles, otherwise the koo'enai
river i navigablr for light draft steainb boats
/ over sixty miles above the mouth at Libby
aud more than 200 miles below-down to
aud through the kootenai lake in British
/ Columbia.
Empi wing into Libby creek from the
| southwest respectively ten and eighteen
mi les above its confluence with the k"ote-
mai, are the long, winding creeks OF Granite
and Biz Cherry, which head in the same
high. rugged and rocky ridge ~ the Libby
At the heads III these creeks and the short
er tributaries Of Libby are found good
showing veins Of galena ore. This SUM-
galena locations made, all OF which. rs far
, rs pr"spected show good solid bodies OF
| ore in porphyry and slate, that run from
/ ffty-two tn eighty.three ounces silver and
| thirty To tity per cent lead to the ton.
! lhearer saws there is more good quartz in
the Libby country than in any one scope Of
country in all his twenty.fuur years Of pros
pecting in tho northwest.
/ The country ia well timbered and the
streams afford excellent water power. Lake
. City is 5000 feet above sea level and the bed
! OF the creek "a couple of miles above the
town, is 600 feet higher Fisher creek,
which flows north with curve to the west,
~ over hfty miles long ar, lies west Of the
Libby. The trail from Thompson Falls to
Lake Civ crosses the head Of Fisher creek
about thiriy.two miles out from Thonp.
son, Cutting across the head of Fisher
creek in Il nprtlwcSt-southeast course is a
vein oi ore over fifty feet i'm width, in a
contact between porphvry. and slate; sur.
face rock taken from this vein a'say"d
1 eighty.two ounces of silver and forty per
cent lead, and three and onp-half foot
strata OF gold quartz running with and ad.
joining the galeia ore. assays $28 gold. Ten
locations have already been made ON the
vein and some open work done this sum
, mer. Dunley and Hart. ot Missuula, and
Crydernun; of ThOmp,plI Falls, own the
Cryderman lncation--the fist made on the
vein-which they have opened by surface
cruss.Cut ten feet deep twenty feet wide
and over fifty {, ct in length across the vein,
all III ore They have contracted for II 200
foot tunnel to be run this winter, tn tap the
| vein at II lower depth, parties are now there
at work putting up buildings and preparing
for an ali winters job, Hines IL Murray
own the extension Of the CrydermaE. Con-
siderable oren work has been done on three
other locations, each of which presents
an excellent showing to he permanent
! profitable mines of the first magnitude.
/ There are some ten or twelve other galena
and quartz locations in the same vicinity
on different veins. Cryderrnan S CO., will
| build wagon road from the camp
| Of Vermillion-which is nineteen
miles from Thompson Falls up
! Vermiilion creek and Lyons gnlch.
twelve miles, and one mile across the divide
! to their siine on Fish creek From the